[konaice]

Except that 30000 to 13000 years ago is withing the memory of mankind (oral traditions, cave paintings), and nothing like this is evident. Being hunted to death seems more likely

Some scholars even believe mankind had memory of Neanderthals. "For in those days there were giants in the earth that bread with the son of man".

[The Red Zone]

Neandertal DNA is not close enough to Homo sapiens DNA for this to happen.

[DannyTN]

I hate it when giants bread with me. Let them get their own bread. You know how big a loaf those guys can eat?

[planetesimal]

Fair point, but many species went extinct around that time, including:

In addition to the tusk evidence, the scientists said arrowheads from North America's prehistoric Clovis culture, which went extinct around 13,500-13,000 years ago, Icelandic marine sediment, as well as sediment from nine 13,000-year-old sites in North America, contain higher-than-normal amounts of radiation in the form of potassium-40 levels.

This is by no means settled science, but interesting nonetheless.

[SoDak]

I seriously doubt the 'hunted to death' theory. What really piques my interest is the frozen mastadons found in Siberia that have fresh flowers in their teeth, and unprocessed vegetation in their gastric system. It's like they just up and died, and froze, in minutes.

[Restorer]

"For in those days there were giants in the earth that bread with the son of man".

Actually, what the Bible says is that the "sons of God" bred with the daughters of men and their offspring were "giants." Exactly what this means is highly debatable, but folk memory of Neanderthals is likely to be it.